The Fall of the Roman Empire

Although the barbarian raids signaled the end of the western Roman Empire, there were a number of internal as well as external factors which had already weakened the Roman state prior to that event (Whitehouse, 1986, p. 170). The fall of the western capital was accomplished within less than a century; nevertheless, it has been noted that "long-term trends, often different trends in combination, can culminate in the sudden collapse of the whole system" (p. 171). Such trends in Rome may be easily traced

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ly a matter of time before the invading barbarian tribes were able to conquer the empire itself. The fall of the western Roman Empire was also stimulated by economic problems. As early as the third century A.D., Rome began to experience serious trade problems and inflation. In 302, the Emperor Diocletian tried to overcome these economic problems by putting a freeze on prices (Chadwick, 1986, p. 808). However, this attempt soon met with drastic consequences, because "goods were withdrawn, a black market prospered, and apparently Diocletian quietly let the matter drop" (Constable, 1988, p. 23). Rome's problems increased over the following century as the high cost of war and defense continued to drain the empire's economy. The emperors of that period found themselves constantly de-valuing the empire's currency in an effort "to meet the enormous costs of their incessant wars and the demands of their citizens for services" (Constable, 1988, p. 21). Thus, throughout the period of Rome's decline, "expenditure consistently outran revenue and attempts to conceal the deficit by debasing the coinage only accelerated the inflationary process that finally destroyed the government's credit, hamstrung the administration and paralyzed the ec
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Approximate Word count = 2518
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page)

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